Sheldon, Iowa — When the Sheldon Board of Adjustment met Thursday, they voted to grant what is called ‘Special Exceptions’ to two entities. Top Notch Stitching at 510 9th Street, has a room on the ground floor that was created to rent as office space, but they were not able to find an occupant. However, they’ve had many requests from people to rent the space as an apartment. However, they found that the City Ordinance does not allow residential use of the first floor in the Downtown Business District. The City Council changed the ordinance to make it possible to allow the Board of Adjustment to make a Special Exception if the residential space met certain specifications. The Special Exception will allow creation of what will be an eleven hundred square foot, two-bedroom apartment.
The next request came from Lora Meendering and Tami Vander Veen on behalf of the owners of the property at 1220 South 2nd Avenue. They plan to create a brewery and coffee shop on the main floor of the building, with two apartments on the 2nd floor. To make that possible, the city first changed the zoning from Heavy Industrial to Arterial Commercial. Then, the council approved an ordinance to allow 2nd floor housing in the Arterial Commercial zone, if it met certain standards and was allowed by the Board of Adjustment. The apartments will be twelve hundred square feet each and will have separate entrances at the rear of the building.
The Board also welcomed Kathy Kruger as a new member and elected Terry Braaksma as their new Chairperson. It was also announced the board will meet again on February 27th at the request of Rise Ministries and Rosenboom, Inc. They have plans to build a permanent stage on the north end of the RiseFest grounds. They will be asking for a six foot variance on the height limit allowed for structures in that area.
